The VHS Archives: David Neil Gottlieb's THE HOLLYWOOD DREAM (1977)

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THE HOLLYWOOD DREAM

David Neil Gottlieb's Game Show Models (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Super Video, Inc.

Catalog: SV25

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: 1985

Runtime: 88:29

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: David Neil Gottlieb

Year of Release: 1977

Country of Origin: U.S.A.

Stars: John Vickery, Gilbert DeRush, Diane Thomas, Diane Sommerfield, Dick Miller, Thelma Houston

AKAs: Game Show Models, Teenage Models, Game Show, The Hollywood Game, The Seventh Dwarf

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Dozens of gorgeous but naive young women move to Hollywood in search of stardom. They sign on with a talent agency that promises them their "big break."

Roger, the president of the agency, uses his power and charm to seduce the girls and fulfill all his sexual fantasies. A young writer for the agency discovers the swinging activities and decides to have an affair of his own with one of Roger's prize clients.

The star-struck lovelies all parade through Roger's bedroom giving him sexual favors in exchange for fame. They soon realize he's exploiting them when their bodies are used as prizes in a wild game show orgy!

U.S. Super Video, Inc. sleeve!

Looking for The Hollywood Dream on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. An even better bet is the excellent DVD release from Vinegar Syndrome; transferred from the original negative, it contains both Sam Sherman's sexed-up Game Show Models reedit and the original, hardly-seen The Seventh Dwarf assembly, along with director's commentary, outtakes and more!

Investigate more titles with Project: SUPER!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2013 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

The VHS Archives: Nick Millard's .357 MAGNUM (1977)

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.357 MAGNUM

Nick Millard's .357 Magnum (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: World Video Pictures, Inc.

Catalog: WV1057

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: ?

Runtime: 69:40

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Nick Millard 

(Jan Anders)

Year of Release: 1977

Country of Origin: U.S.A.

Stars: Marland Proctor, James Whitworth, Kathryn Hayes, Marianne Walter (Kelly Nichols)

AKAs: ?

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Jonathan Hightower's weapon of chose is the deadly .357 Magnum. He's assigned to the Far East to track the killer of CIA agents in Hong Kong and Tokyo. . . . International intrigue, doublecross and death follow. The only way out is the shootout!

 U.S World Video Pictures, Inc. sleeve!

An awesomely terrible clip, uploaded by "brujaria"!

Looking for .357 Magnum on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Not on DVD.

Investigate more titles with Project: WORLD!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2012 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

The VHS Archives: Aristide Massaccesi's TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM (1977)

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TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM

Aristide Massaccesi's Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Twilight Video

Catalog: #23000

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: 1985

Runtime: 93:02

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Aristide Massaccesi (Joe D'Amato)

Year of Release: 1977

Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Donal O'Brien, Monica Zanchi, Nieves Navarro (Susan Scott), Annamaria Clementi, Dirce Funari

AKAs: Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, Rape in the Tropics, Bloody Track, Naked Among Cannibals

Verbatim Box Synopsis

The Amazon jungle -- so impenetrable that if its natural dangers don't get you ... there's a good chance the aboriginal cannibals will!

This is what four adventurers faced after ignoring all warnings and perilous signals. Their fate -- documented and detailed in this graphic account -- is an experience of such horror and scope that it is advisable to view it with caution. Remind yourself that it is only a movie -- and not the real thing!

Because some scenes are so explicit, children under 13 should not be permitted to see "TRAP THEM and KILL THEM."

 

U.S. Twilight Video sleeve!

Japanese Pack-In-Video sleeve, courtesy of Japanese VHS Hell!

Danish Video Action sleeve, courtesy of Rare Cult Cinema!

Dutch Video for Pleasure sleeve, originally scanned by "HorrorC.K."!

French Prosperine Editions sleeve, originally scanned by "Fred932000"!

Alternate French Prosperine Editions reissue sleeve, also scanned by "Fred932000"!

German Video Medien Pool sleeve!

German EuroVideo embedded clamshell!

Original Italian trailer, uploaded by "johntrent70"! Chock-full of nudity and gore, so it's not even remotely safe for work, but one watch and you'll be humming the score all day.

Looking for Trap Them and Kill Them on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. Media Blasters have also released a nice DVD as Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, but it's out-of-print now and starting to get a little pricey.

Investigate more titles with Project: TWE!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2012 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

It's Name that Movie Monday! Challenge #25!

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Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

It's time for Challenge #25 here at the ol' Arcana! Can you identify this week's mystery photo, scanned direct from The Holecheck Archives? If you think you recognize it, post a comment below. As the week goes on, if no one guesses correctly I'll begin adding some pretty useless hints. Easy, right?

Here ya' go -- good luck!

UPDATE:

Congrats to reader "Paul" for identifying this mystery photo as Denis Heroux's The Uncanny (1977).  I thought the image would be a little tougher to nail with half of Samantha Eggar's face hidden, but I guess it's hard to mistake those eyes!

The film itself is a Canadian attempt at aping the success British companies like Amicus had been having with the anthology format, bringing in plenty of that country's stars and some of their backers, too.  Peter Cushing hosts as a writer pitching his newest research tome; one dedicated to the concept that cats have been exploiting mankind instead of the other way around.  Seriously.  What follows is a trio of supposed terror tales involving feline forces dooming a surprisingly loaded cast that includes, in addition to Eggar and Cushing, turns from Ray Milland, Donald Pleasance, John Vernon, Susan Penhaligon and more.

While bypassing theatrical play in the States (going direct to television airings on CBS), The Uncanny did hit screens in its financing countries; North of the border Astral handled the job, and across the pond Rank took charge.  There was even a novelization issued in the U.K.!  Receiving an '80s VHS release Stateside courtesy of Media Home Entertainment, the film never gained much of a following here, probably due to its lack of particularly exploitable content -- at the end of the day, it's still a flick about killer kitties, no matter what you do!  No domestic DVD as of this writing, but there are imports available in Australia and Britain.

For a look at Challenge #24, still unsolved, click here. We also have quite a few unidentified Grab Bag photos, if you really want to show your stuff. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and preorder some cool stuff!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

The VHS Archives: Luigi Batzella's SS EXPERIMENT CAMP 2 (1977)

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SS EXPERIMENT CAMP 2

Luigi Batzella's La bestia in calore (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.
Catalog: MOG1018

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: 1987
Runtime: 77:27

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Luigi Batzella

Year of Release: 1977
Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Macha Magall, Xiro Papas, Salvatore Baccaro, Gino Turini, Brad Harris, Brigitte Skay

AKAs: The Beast in Heat, SS Hell Camp, Horrifying Experiments of the SS Last Days, Nazi Holocaust

Verbatim Box Synopsis

A terrifying story of violence and madness set in a camp of re-inforced concrete and wire during World War II.

Some of the prisoners got out -- the lucky few -- and some of them didn't, those who didn't were left to suffer the isolation of the concentration camp and the ruthlessness of Hitler's elite band of Nazi guards.

This is the story of those who didn't escape.  A story of the destruction of men and history and the Nazi pledge to shock and plunder.

U.S. Mogul sleeve!

U.S. Video City Productions sleeve!

U.K. JVI Video Films sleeve, courtesy of the Grindhouse Database! 

South Korean NVC sleeve, originally scanned by "gialloboy"!

Danish Video Action / Videogram sleeve, courtesy of Hans-Jorn Reimer and his Danish Ex-Rental VHS Appreciation Group!

French Assaut Video sleeve, taken from Nanarland!

Greek AGM Home Video sleeve, originally scanned by ""!

DVD trailer, uploaded by "Jewbo23"!

Though this tape isn't readily available, Media Blasters issued an excellent uncut DVD that is well worth picking up!  Get it by itself, or in a Nazi Nasty triple-pack!

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Project Mogul: Massimo Pirri's TERRORISM (1977)

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TERRORISM

Massismo Pirri's Italia: Ultimo atto? (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.

Catalog: MOG1007

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: ?

Runtime: 81:59

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Massimo Pirri

Year of Release: 1977

Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Luc Merenda, Lou Castel, Andrea Franchetti

AKAs: Could It Happen Here?, Ultimate Shot

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Urban battles... violent explosions... Terrorism blows up in a large city and soon guerilla warfare escalates into all-out bloodshed... Matial law and curfew are in force.

Frightened ciizens wander around the inner city armed with rifles and machine guns.

The whole metropolis is turned into a burning inferno of suspicion and destruction.

U.S. Mogul Communications sleeve!

Argentinean RF Video Home sleeve, courtesy of RaroVHS! 

Italian-language U.S. Centauro Video Film sleeve, originally scanned by Nucleus Films' Marc Morris!

Looking for Terrorism on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

It's Name that Movie Monday! Challenge #18!

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Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

It's time for Challenge #18 here at the ol' Arcana! Can you identify this week's mystery photo, scanned direct from The Holecheck Archives? If you think you recognize it, post a comment below. As the week goes on, if no one guesses correctly I'll begin adding some pretty useless hints. Easy, right?

Here ya' go -- good luck!

UPDATE:

And Chris Poggiali (Temple of Schlock) takes the lead, scoring four by naming Lucio Fulci's The Psychic (1977), a supernatural-tinged giallo whose U.S. retitling and tagline kind of give away some of its worthy surprises.  After receiving visions of a vicious murder, a woman uncovers a skeleton at her husband's family estate.  Believing his cries of innocence, it's up to her to piece together the mystery of the images she saw, before it's too late...

Originally titled Seven Notes in Black, this transitional film for Fulci (smack dab in the middle of his earlier, more traditional thrillers like A Lizard in Woman's Skin and Don't Torture a Duckling and his later, legendary gore romps) is easily one of his best.  Its compelling script peels away its layers carefully, and the director is constantly aided by a wonderful score and nice photography by frequent collaborators Fabio Frizzi and Sergio Salvati, respectively.  While usually overlooked in favor of Lucio's more graphic endeavors, The Psychic has at least found itself memorable enough to be paid tribute in some unexpected places: there's an awesomely daft Bollywood remake named 100 Days, and a soundtrack cue popped up during an especially inspired sequence in Kill Bill, Vol. 1.

Group 1 released the film to domestic theaters in 1979, attempting to wring some name value out of former Cover Girl model and descending actress Jennifer O'Neill.  Like most of their holdings, it hit VHS care of Catalina Home Video, and was later reissued by Lightning Video.  (There's apparently a Video Treasures tape, too, but I never had it.)  DVD-era rumors circulated that the title was slated for re-release from Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder Pictures--a clip was even included in one of his introductory wraparounds--but it was never to be.  Image Entertainment had their hands on it for a time, but that never materialized, either.

Finally, Severin Films gave The Psychic its English-friendly digital debut in 2007 (discounting the Alfa Digital bootleg that married the French DVD's video with an old VHS' audio track), containing a good-looking transfer of the full European version (the U.S. prints were all missing some credit footage and other minor bits), Group 1's preview and a half-hour featurette with writer Dardano Sacchetti and others.  (I contacted Jennifer O'Neill's reps requesting an interview for the disc; I never heard back...)  (And screw Fed Ex for losing my 35mm trailer on its way to Severin!)  A nice package for a highly recommended film.

Television ad swiped from Fred Adelman's magnificent Critical Condition, of course.

For a look at last week's entry, click here. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and preorder some cool stuff!

 
© 2010 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

It's Name that Movie Monday! Challenge #17!

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Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

It's time for Challenge #17 here at the ol' Arcana! Can you identify this week's mystery photo, scanned direct from The Holecheck Archives? If you think you recognize it, post a comment below. As the week goes on, if no one guesses correctly I'll begin adding some pretty useless hints. Easy, right?

(Things have been a bit hectic lately, but I should get last week's Challenge updated shortly, along with posting a new interview and a look at some rare unused promo negatives.  Stay tuned to this channel!)

Anywho, here ya' go -- good luck!

UPDATE:

Congrats to Todd Bridges, who makes it three by identifying Jean LaFleur's Ilsa, Tigress of Siberia (1977) as this week's Challenge, scoring him dead even with current leaders William Wilson and Chris Poggiali.

The fourth and final entry of the gloriously sicko series finds our top-heavy heroine the commandant of a Russian "rehab" clinic, punishing her political prisoner population with forced ice baths, chainsaw arm-wrestling bouts and mind-altering electroshock treatments. If that doesn't work, they're simply fed to her pet tiger. When Stalin falls, our titular temptress makes her way to Canada(?), where she heads up a whorehouse and is more determined than ever to finish what she started... Less sadistic than its predecessors, this action-oriented Canuxploitation romp really should enjoy a greater reputation than it does. It's fast-paced, has plenty of explosions, inventive bloodshed, wholly gratuitous nudity -- plus, you get to hear stock music cues from Dawn of the Dead used in a shower sex scene!

Seeing release in its home country by production company Cinepix, New World Pictures grabbed it for U.S. release and issued a cut, R-rated version to a few screens in 1978 under the title The Tigress. (Cinepix also used this moniker; the character is never actually addressed as Ilsa in the film. Copyright reasons? Or perhaps fear of a backlash?) Their hilariously-misleading poster featured a generic model on a tiger-skin rug; one can only imagine how thrilled audience members were to find a film rife with impalements, shootings and the occasional snowplow dismemberment. According to Christopher T. Koetting's book, Mind Warp!, the film then went on to "a four-year engagement at US military bases overseas, at which it premiered in May 1980." That's one way to keep morale high!

This censored edit found its way to VHS from Charter Entertainment, again titled The Tigress, while American Video issued it intact under the more exploitable Ilsa, the Tigress of Siberia. Amazingly, there's currently no domestic DVD; however, those with PAL capabilities can grab the 2004 release from Shock Distribution. It's an okay anamorphic print -- not up to today's transfer standards but it's uncut and remains the best current option (other import discs are flawed with forced subtitles, optical censoring, etc.). Supplements include the ironically-narrated trailer (embedded below) and a stills collection that consists of a lot of screen captures, followed by some genuine advertising materials. It'd be great to get a new hi-def transfer of this sucker, with Dyanne Thorne commentary and some other extras; hopefully someone out there reading this can make it happen!

 

For a look at last week's entry, click here. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and preorder some cool stuff!

© 2010 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.